


Febuwhump 2021 Oneshots

by RidetheRain



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, FebuWhump2021, Gen, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Whump, oneshots, sometimes anyway, zelink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:20:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 17,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29147355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RidetheRain/pseuds/RidetheRain
Summary: My contributions to this year's Febuwhump. Link and Zelda are my usual targets for whump, but this time, I am going after more characters and ruining their days, years, and lives as much as possible!
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Mipha/Revali (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 48
Collections: febuwhump 2021





	1. Coma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link was gravely injured in his fight against Waterblight Ganon. Prince Sidon sits at his bedside, concerned that his friend will never wake again.  
> Chapter Rating: G

Link had been out for several days so far. I don't know him well, but he is nevertheless important to me. Because he was important to my sister. It's odd to think of this little Hylian as the man I knew as a child. My memories are sparse, but I can recall a tall Hylian with a loud laugh and a quick smile. Very different from the silent, still boy in front of me. 

I'm told that he hit his head at some point while fighting in Vah Ruta. He seemed to have hit almost every part of his body based on the blood. I'm pretty sure his shirt was not supposed to be an odd violet-red color. Now, of course, the physicians have hidden away his shirt and dressed him in a white cotton coverlet what only made the injuries stand out more against the stark color. The bruising looks worse now that I can see it well, but the scratches and cuts look better without oozing liquid. The burns look the same. 

I remember being a little guppy idolizing this child. Believe it or not, we are the same age. Link and I were born within weeks of each other. His father was a soldier stationed near the Domain and he brought his wife to enjoy the Domain's amenities during her pregnancy. My dear sister learned Hylian midwifery at this point and became proficient in the art. She had not practiced on any races other than Zora before then and I am told she enjoyed the challenge of a warm-blooded race. 

Mipha's hands brought Link into this world as is the Hylian way. The Zora are born differently, but Mipha was the first to touch me after I hatched as well. It is almost the same and it is something I share with this boy out of time. I can't help but look at him as a child. The odd path which his life traveled ensured that our lives intersected multiple times at similar points of maturity for our respective species. I was supposed to grow slowly and become a young man while he grew old and died, but instead, he did not grow old. 

I don't know what my sister was thinking, loving such a one as this. It was tragic that her life was cut short, but if she loved him as truly as I so fuzzily recall, it can only be a kindness that she didn't live to see him grow, die, live again, and then, perhaps, die once more. 

His chest barely rose as he breathed below the blankets.

I hope he wakes. I know he doesn't remember my sister. In truth, I don't really remember her either. It's one more thing we have in common. We are the same age, we loved my sister, and we forgot her. 


	2. I Can't Take This Anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link can barely handle the cold of the Spring of Power.  
> Chapter Rating: T

A chill breeze raced through my hair and down the back of my shirt. It stuck between my outermost layer of fabric and the heavy weight of chainmail but I could barely feel it on my back. My feet were stuck in warm boots that I maintained carefully. I've re-soled them twice, and I brush the dirt and mud from them each night. I also have warm socks made from wool harvested by the tenants on my land. It's high-quality wool and dyed a fitting forest green in honor of my patron Goddess. Most of my clothing is dyed green in honor of Farore. I think my mother finds it funny to deck me out in green when I've told her I prefer blue. 

All of my heavy garments protect me from the biting air and the cold stone leeching heat below. It makes my task of guarding the Princess worse. If it helped anything, I would take it all off. I would wear the light Gerudo silk trousers I acquired on our last visit and go entirely shirtless. I would let the cold air sap the warmth from my skin if it meant I could wrap her in my Snowquill coat and pull her out of the water sooner. 

Her shivers caused never-ending ripples on the surface of the spring water. Long hair brushed the top of the water, slowly soaking upward towards her head. When it reaches her scalp, she will begin to shudder violently with cold. She will insist on continuing her prayers with a damp crown and will catch a cold. I will beg and plead with her in my mind while saying absolutely nothing because it is not my place to offer salvation. She will become sick and withdrawn after catching cold. I will warm her with my body against all the rules of propriety while we race back to the castle. I have planned for her sickness this time and left her horse, Tempest, at a nearby stable. Instead, we will travel back together on Epona and share my body heat. I will sweat in my heavy garments until then to ensure that I am hot to the touch when the time comes. 

Zelda takes a shuddering breath behind me when the next breeze sweeps through the spring. Her dress will be soaked to the top by now. It has three layers of white fabric. I've washed it several times while she's been delirious after praying and I have cataloged its deficiencies. The innermost layer will soak through first and stick to her cold skin. It's the thinnest and softest layer. Designed to be comfortable against the skin for long periods of time and therefore soaks up water like a sponge. It will become heavy. The outer layers will take longer to become damp. The water will seep up the bottom three or four inches quickly. Her little movements in the water will shuffle her dress in and out of the water so it will saccharate quickly and thoroughly. It won't soak through all the way to the collar of the dress. Instead, it will just look damp and prevent warmth from reaching the inner layers when she sits by the fire. It has no sleeves which will keep her arms mostly dry, but also won't protect her from the chill of the air when dusk comes and night falls. I will never survive our trip to the Spring of Wisdom. I will commit treason by refusing to let her sink into the cold waters atop a snowy mountain. I will commit treason tonight to drag her out of the waters. The only thing holding me back is knowing that pulling her from the water will require that I get wet and physically drag her from the Goddess. If I get wet then I will be cold and I won't be able to warm her. She could die. 

My sword rings in the silence when I slide it into its scabbard. Zelda doesn't turn to me or cease praying. The flint is warm from being pressed against my leg in my pouch. It's easy to coax a small flame into existence and build it into a friendly cooking fire. My pouch was stuffed with spicy food to cook for the Princess. I roll out a blanket and her clothing next to the fire just out of reach of the flames. Little riceballs with spicy peppers are warming on a stick when I finally turn to look at the Princess for the first time. 

She's shuddering in huge wracking quakes. Her face is wet with tears that I'm certain she isn't aware are spilling from her eyes. Her hair is soaked to the roots and her dress is translucent in the moonlight. Every breeze threatens to tip her into the dark water. 

Enough is enough. I cannot take it anymore. I drop my baldric and sword to the ground. I strip my sturdy boots and warm socks off my feet and tear the tunic and mail and undershirt from my back. I strip out of my trousers so that there is nothing left but my pants to protect my modesty. She would care about that. 

I wade into the waters. It's like ice in the pool. My muscles seize in protest and I walk as quickly as the water allows me to grab at the Princess. She tries to struggle, but really it's hardly noticeable around the trembling of her body. Her voice is gone and I think she's sick already. 

Saving her is worth the danger, and the treason, and the beheading, and the damnation. It is worth the cold.


	3. Truth Serum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usually, Link doesn't talk very much, but when he does...
> 
> Chapter Rating: G

The Champions were all older than me. It rarely bothered me since I'm the Princess and my authority and worth come from places other than experience for all that I am associated with the Goddess of Wisdom. I choose to believe that my wisdom is established by my commitment to choosing such people as my advisors. Those who are older and wiser. Those who are currently getting drunk while I am sitting on a log by the fire, completely sober. I don't deny that they have earned the right to take time off and drink. I don't dislike that they did not offer me any alcohol - I would have refused since I am underage. So, I am not bothered by their age, the exclusion, their taking of a well-deserved break, or anything else I can think to blame. This means I am not bothered by the way that Urbosa and Daruk apparently have the same taste in bawdy tavern songs. Or that Mipha is trying to get into Link's pants again. Or that Link is so completely unaware of Mipha's attention that he is posturing with Revali without noticing that his flexing is attracting the eyes of the wrong bird.

I have seen Urbosa drunk many times. The festivals I've attended in Gerudo have ensured that I am proficient in the music she and Daruk are currently butchering. I could sing all five verses and I could probably give a passable performance of the accompanying dance. It would be almost funny to join in and see the look on everyone else's faces. I imagine that Daruk and Urbosa would find it funny. Revali would pretend that he didn't find it funny. Mipha would be horrified and Link would have kittens. 

Assuming Link would even notice. He was talking tonight. That wasn't strictly speaking unusual since we have both been making more of an effort to be friends since our misadventure in the desert. I have been working on being more generous with him and he has been working on being more open with me. However, he's talking _a lot_.

"I've been practicing a lot with the bow, Rev," Link said in a rush, "I want to show you. I'm sure I could do better than last time. Come on, pick a target. I can do it."

"I don't know Link-" Revali started.

"-No, no, no. I'm serious!" Link said even faster, "I've gotten really good. I focus really, really hard just like you said. I can do this. Pick a target. I can do it."

Revali sighed a long-suffering sigh. "Maybe later. I'm on guard duty right now." He turned and slid cautiously onto the ground. He tipped slightly to the left where he sat. Maybe I should steal his arrows so he can't hurt anyone by accident. 

Link looked upset for just a moment before his face cleared and he turned towards me.

"Zelda! Why are you sitting over there? You should come talk to me," Link said. He wasn't really slurring his words, but he wasn't as precise in his vowels as usual which just made his thick Faronian accent more difficult to decipher. 

"Link, you are drunk," Mipha said gently, "Maybe you should take a break and let the Princess have some time to herself."

She tried unsuccessfully to take Link's glass away.

"Mipha! I didn't know you were here! No, give me that back. It's mine, get your own. Oh! You'll have to watch when Revali and I practice later. He's going to pick targets and I'm going to show him what I've learned!"

A nervous giggle tore out of Mipha's mouth, "You haven't changed at all since you were a child, Link. I'm going to talk Revali out of your nonsense."

She left us alone and Link watched her leave for a moment before turning to me.

"You know, I think she wants me to marry her. I don't think I'd like that very much. Do you think I should say yes anyway?"  
I was stunned. I was certain that Link didn't know that Mipha was interested in him. I was shocked he noticed her at all, honestly. Alcohol seemed to act as a sort of truth-telling elixir on Link so I shouldn't have been surprised by the next revelation out of his mouth.

"I met her when I was a baby, did you know that? She was literally my mother's midwife so I've really, really known her forever. I'm the same age as her little brother. I don't think I could marry my sister and Mipha is basically my sister. I don't think my mother would like it either. She thinks I should marry a nice girl from Hateno who's good at math. I'm hopeless at it and Ma says that math is important for keeping the books neat and orderly. You're all sciency, Princess, do you know a girl who is good at math? I could marry her and then I wouldn't have to tell Mipha that I don't want to marry my sister."

I sat in shocked silence for a moment. Link was in earnest and did not blink as he waited for my answer. I admit that my mouth was hanging open just a little. Who do you recommend when the boy you kind-of like asks which math-focused girl he can marry so he can get out of an uncomfortable conversation? One that is completely inappropriate, of course.

"Well... I like math." I had to get that out there even if it was too subtle for his drunken brain, "So I know lots of girls who are good at it. I think the best one is Urbosa. She keeps her whole city running smoothly and sometimes that means doing math."

A small pucker appeared between Link's eyebrows as he considers my suggestion.

"I don't think that will work, Princess," He says slowly, "I think she only likes other ladies and I think she might notice that I'm not a very good lady. Besides, she's the closest thing the Princess has to a mother these days and it would probably be weird to be in love with your wife's pseudo-daughter. Don't worry. I'll think of someone." 

At that astonishing announcement, Link turned on wobbly legs and shouted for Revali to pick a target. 


	4. Impaling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda was right in front of him a few seconds ago. He only closed his eye for a moment... But she was gone.
> 
> Chapter Rating: G

A startled shriek echoed through the plain. I was half asleep under a tree when I heard it. Fear seized at my heart while I blinked the sleep from my eyes. I jumped to my feet and clutched the Master Sword in two hands. The Princess was not at the small river in front of me where I had left her. She had been examining the frogs that lived in the shallows and had seemed perfectly content to watch them all day. 

My eyes darted frantically up and down the bank, looking for a sign that she had been dragged away or pulled under or any number of vile possibilities. She was nowhere to be seen. I saw impressions of her boots tracking northward and a few smatterings of circled paths where she had clearly seen something interesting while she walked.

I raced along the bank and double-checked that my quiver was full of arrows. A Yiga clansmen could have distracted her. They could have drawn her interest upriver until she was out of view before slicing her open. A copse of trees grew ahead. That would be the perfect place to murder her. I considered shouting for her before dismissing the idea. I wanted the element of surprise on her attackers. I was an excellent swordsman, but there is always danger when a hostage is in the mix. It was best that they don't know I'm coming.

I still don't see anything but the Princess's footprints on the ground, and I'm closing in on the trees. My headlong charge through the grasses comes to an abrupt halt when I realize that there is a significant amount of tree litter in the forest. I will need to walk carefully to keep the noise down. 

I could see a flash of golden hair ahead of me. She was still moving through the forest, but she seemed to be working her way towards me. Had she escaped? I slipped to the side so she could pass without noticing me. I would try to hold off her attackers if they followed and then circle back for her. 

The forest was empty. They must have disappeared with their card tricks when the Princess escaped. I rushed back as quickly as possible. 

"Link!" Zelda cried out when I came barrelling into her view. "You scared me!"

She was holding her hand carefully to her chest. I grabbed at her forearm and roughly yanked her hand up to my face. I surveyed the damage. 

I could feel the tips of my ears burn and tried to control it enough to keep it off my face. The Princess looked at me curiously but did not try to pull her hand back from my grip. I carefully extracted the thorn embedded in her thumb. 


	5. "Take Me Instead"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is nothing more dangerous than a pack of mischievous Zora children. Except maybe a Lynel.

The first indication that something was wrong came just as the sun lowered beyond the falls. A shout carried through the Domain and the sound of feet slapping against the stone floors. A stampede of little Zora children crashed into my view, all talking at once. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be concerning - they were a noisy bunch - but today one word stuck out from the din. Lynel.

"Quiet," I said calmly. "Bazz, tell me what is going on."

I chose the little Zora that was usually the spokesman for the group.

"The Lynel at Shatterback Point! It's back!" Bazz said excitedly, "We saw it! We told Sidon that it was too big and scary to get near, but he went anyway! Now Sidon is stuck, and Link told us to come and get you!"

I was near-frozen with fear. Sidon? Near a lynel? He was likely already dead. Little Link wasn't old enough to be any real challenge to a lynel and was likely also dead or dying. I needed to hurry if I wanted to save either boy. I took off at a dead sprint, shouting at the guards along the way. I ripped a trident out of the hands of a nearby guard as I passed and lept into the water. My heart raced as I climbed waterfall after waterfall faster than I had ever ascended before. Every second counted when it comes to a lynel attack.

I stopped briefly at the top of the last waterfall. I could hear the sounds of running and the lynel huffing, which meant that at least one of the boys was still alive. My trident was firm in my grip, and I padded as silently as I could towards the sounds of the fight. I could see the lynel first. It was huge. Massive hindquarters stuck out from behind the large boulder at the entrance to the small clearing atop Shatterback. It was facing away from me and pawing the ground with one large, vicious-looking hoof. A horrific sword jutted out above the rock where the lynel was holding it aloft. The hindquarters disappeared entirely behind the rock when the lynel lept forward to take a swing at its enemy.

I scanned the area and quickly found Sidon hunched behind a tree halfway around the clearing. His little features were stuck in a half-awed, half-fearful grimace that made him look sick. He hadn't noticed me yet since his eyes were staring, unblinking at the spectacle in front of him. The stupid boy wasn't even hiding entirely behind the tree.

Link, whom I assume was the lynel's distraction, seemed to run in the opposite direction of Sidon's hiding place, and the lynel followed. I used the opportunity to scurry over to my little brother and clap a hand over his mouth while grabbing him bodily from behind. He struggled for a moment before recognizing me and looking up at me with as much fear as he was offering the lynel. I gave him my most ferocious glare. My grip was probably too tight on his forearm, and I would likely need to heal some bruises later, but I wasn't willing to wait for him to get his feet under him before we were moving again. He tried to shout and squirm from me while I dragged his ass back the way I came and thrust him into the waiting arms of the guards that had finally made it up the waterfalls.

"Get him away from here," I hissed at them. "Link is distracting it."

I waited only a moment to see the guard turning towards the Domain with my little brother before turning on my heel to rescue the other ingrate. Link was the son of a Hylian ambassador. If he died, then it would be a diplomatic disaster. The Zora would be shamed in front of all Hyrule's races if they couldn't keep an eight-year-old boy safe in the best-protected city in the kingdom. Worse, his parents were personal friends of my father, and they would be devastated at a loss so significant. I rushed around the boulder that had hidden me from view before - expecting to see a mangled little boy on the edge of death, desperately trying to run from a giant beast swinging a sword the size of him.

Instead, I saw a lynel bucking in confusion with a tiny boy sitting astride it. The lynel's sword was strapped crudely to a long pole to resemble a spear, and Link was holding a shock arrow like a sword while beating the lynel about the head with it. One hand was dug deep into the lynel's mane, holding on for dear life. I skid to a halt six feet away in complete shock. I wasn't quite sure what to make of the sight. The lynel jolted at each blow that Link dealt with the shock arrow. I could hardly believe it, but the lynel had wounds all over its body. Link was winning.

Nevertheless, I jumped forward with my trident and struck a cruel blow to the beast's belly. The cut would kill it in time, regardless of the outcome of the fight. The lynel reared dramatically at the surprise and pain, which unfortunately threw Link to the ground. He slumped in a heap at the foot of the beast. I leaped forward in front of the boy and thrust my trident into its face. I cut deeply into its eyes and sunk the tines through its skull to the brain. The lynel was dead before it hit the ground. 

I rushed to the slumped pile of eight-year-old and pushed my healing power generally into his body. His eyes flickered open and gazed at me with a faraway expression. His pupils were huge in the dim light of evening, but I suspected a concussion from the fall. Burns in the branching pattern of electricity riddled his hands. I took the pain away and mended the cooked skin, but the scars would stay with him throughout his life. I hoped it would be a good long one, but the recklessness he displayed in fighting a lynel with a shock arrow would likely destroy him at a young age. Otherwise, this brave little boy might be someone someday.


	6. "I Can't Lose You Too"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything was better now that Zelda was saved. Nothing could go wrong.

Impa was dying.

It wasn't terribly surprising since she was over a hundred and twenty years old. Frankly, it was shocking that she lived as long as she had. I suspected that seeing the Princess alive again both invigorated her last days and caused the shock to her system that eventually killed her.

Kakariko was somber despite the sunny day when Zelda and I rode into town. Paya greeted us at the stable and gave us an update on her grandmother's condition. She was still so nervous and afraid of her shadow. It would be a rough transition for her to lead the Sheikah after Impa's passing. From her tone, it was clear that she worried the moment could happen even as we stood discussing our journey and other social niceties. 

Zelda could barely keep her composure speaking to Paya. Her eyes darted towards the big house every few moments, and every statement trailed off without completing her thoughts. Paya caught on quickly, or she was just as distracted because she led us up to the house quickly without stopping to drop our things at the inn as we were accustomed to doing when arriving in a new town. 

Zelda bound up the stairs two at a time and raced into the house. She would be inconsolable after this. I stayed outside the door with Paya for a moment. Zelda needed time to see her friend alone, and Paya looked like she could use some silent company. We stood companionably for several minutes, listening to the bird's chatter. Eventually, she slumped her shoulders and gave me a desperate look. 

"What am I going to do, Link?" she asked piteously. 

I cast about for something reassuring to say, but really, I was feeling adrift as well. Impa was one of the few that knew me before the Calamity. Her loss represented not just the loss of a genuine friend, but of lost memories and moments of my life that only her memories currently kept alive. 

"I think you're going to be sad, Paya," I said honestly, "We all are. When you grieve, we will all grieve with you. You'll lead the Sheikah and make mistakes as Impa did before you. The people here know you and love you. They will help you when you need it."

I couldn't think of anything else to say. I gave her an awkward pat on the back and followed her into the house. Impa lay on a cot where her chair used to sit. Next to her, Zelda sat on a small stool and held her hand while speaking in hushed tones; every few seconds a tear emerged from her eye to trail down her cheek. I was struck once again at her ethereal aspect. The Goddess was crying for Impa.

I was going to walk over and put a reassuring hand on Zelda's shoulder. I was going to lean forward to hear Impa's response when I told her that I would look after Zelda and Paya for her. I was going to keep my face impassive. But, looking at my friend laying in a cot because she was dying tore something in my chest. I lost my habitual composure and flung myself to the floor next to her cot. I reached for anything I could and clutched at the blankets covering her thin legs. I couldn't see her face properly through the blotchy tears rolling down my face. My breath was ragged as I gasped for air. I knew the symptoms of a panic attack. Next, I would feel my heart race out of control, and, if I couldn't get a grip, then I would most likely pass out. 

"Impa," I dragged out, "I can't lose you too... _I can't._ "

I was saved by a gentle weight on my shoulder. Zelda had reached for me and gave a light squeeze that made my breath come easier. Through my wet eyes, I could see a kind, sad smile on her face.

"Don't worry, Impa," She said, "I'll take care of Link for you. You don't need to worry about a thing."


	7. "Hey Hey This is No Time To Sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday's post is part of a larger story of mine so it's a standalone story called Poisoned!

A blinding white light overtakes everything in my vision. It seeps into my bones and pushes out the chill, making even the raindrops on my skin feel hot. An acrid scent of magic temporarily overtakes the burning scent of fear from everyone still alive. The light uplifts my spirit warming my soul. I can't help but believe despite the evidence of my eyes the hole in my heart where Cherry used to live that everything will be okay.

When the light recedes and I can see again the battlefield I stand on is quiet. Even the dying stop screaming for a moment. My guardians, the work of my life, are dead in front of me. I can't help but feel torn at their loss even though they are the reason for the destruction around me. Now that I have a moment, I can see the true cost of this war. Homes are burnt to a crisp, a stable is still on fire in the distance, the garrison is barely more than rubble, even the landscape is scarred. Where there was once flat land is now a mess of hills and dips from the giant automaton's lasers. 

Worse of all is the filthy, dirt-covered, bloody, glowing form of the golden princess on the ground. I look at Purah in concern before quickly leaping forward. We dodge and hide behind the destroyed hulls of downed guardians on our way. There was no telling how long they would be stunned or if the Princess's power killed them outright. 

She is wracked with sobs. Her beautiful golden hair was curtaining her face over the bloody mess of a man she cradled in her arms. His face was hidden from my view, but there was no mistaking the champion blue shirt or the purple-hilted sword. This was the Hylian Champion dying on the ground with the Calamity still raging at the castle. 

"Link," the Princess choked out, "Please stay awake. I'll save you, we'll get you help. Just stay awake. Link, open your eyes."

There was no way he could hear her. His injuries were enough to send even the strongest warrior into shock. He had a bloody hole in his side from a guardian laser about two inches in diameter. Blood also pooled on the right side of his head where he was missing most of one ear. The Princess reached out and gently brushed some of the dirt away from this hole with the edge of her filthy prayer dress. She gave him a soft look while tears streamed down her face. 

"I'll fix this," she promised, "I've got you now. I won't let anything happen to you. Just stay awake. Stay with me, Link."

"Princess!" I shouted to announce our presence. I lept as close as I dared and knelt, she was as good as Queen now. The King was likely dead now. 

"Take Link to the Shrine of Resurrection!" She ordered immediately, "If you don’t get him there immediately, we are going to lose him forever!"

I exchanged another look with Purah before following my Queen's first order to me.


	8. Hostage Situation

Zelda and I were a team.

Okay, so we didn't get off to the best start, but we had been getting better lately. I didn't make unilateral decisions that involved her and she didn't assume that I was evil incarnate whose very existence was designed to shackle her to the King's wishes. When she was poisoned in the castle I upended my entire life to ensure that I would become her primary guard and personal attendant. When I was injured fighting and fell unconscious she sold her mother's necklace to purchase safety for the both of us on the way to Zora's Domain and my eventual recovery. 

We were a team that worked together and for the interests of each other. I knelt at her feet and promised to protect her and she swore to look after my interests as her own in return. So I was really at a loss as to why, for some reason, she was standing across the room right now doing nothing when I could really use her aid. I was surrounded and she had the ability to save me but was instead watching with a look that I couldn't decipher.

There were too many of them for me to handle alone. I had no chance of escape. Eyes were on me from every direction and I had no ideas for a distraction. I was going to be stuck here without hope until their interest died down. At some point, they must get bored watching me. They pressed in closer and asked me questions but I kept silent. I tried not to panic. I cast around again for someone to help me. My mother was sitting at a table with her friends, but she was smirking in triumph at me. She's been wanting me to pick some girl and make her my wife for the past three years so I don't really expect her to rescue me. I slid my eyes the other direction, past Zelda's odd expression, and settled on each exit before lingering on the window.

"Link," One of the girls was talking, "I was wondering if you could show me how good you are with your bow. We could walk down to the forest and I could cook you a meal with whatever you catch."

"You're so strong," Another one said at the same time, "All the training you've done to become a knight has made you even more handsome than you were before!"

I looked at Zelda and widened my eyes and took an exaggerated breath in the hopes she would notice that something was wrong, but she wasn't even looking at me. Her eyes were fixed on the second girl's hand where it rested on my arm, testing the muscle she claimed I didn't have the last time I was home which was a lie. 

"Do you like my dress, Link?" A third one asked while pressing herself close enough that I couldn't really look at the dress in question, "I thought of you when I saw this gorgeous new green dye and I had to try it out."

The next girl was even less subtle when she grabbed my hand and placed it around her waist. "Don't you think we'd make a beautiful couple? I have two brothers you know, I'd be able to give you sons."

My wide-eyed stare at Zelda changed from an exaggeration to an honest-to-Farore fearful expression. She had to get me out of this. Thank Hylia she finally looked me in the face and noticed my expression. Her face changed so quickly that I couldn't catch the first emotion, but I definitely got the second. The conniving, scheming, calculating look was so horrifying that I considered momentarily that these women weren't that bad.

"Oh yeah? Well, I have four brothers!"

Nope, I'd give her whatever she wanted to get me out of this. Her hand slowly drifted up to her face and wiggled five fingers at me in turn. Five minutes? That was too long. I would die of embarrassment by the end of this conversation, I was sure of it. Then her second hand came into focus shaking a little bottle of her mystery elixir.   
No. 

No, I'm not doing it. I won't drink any of her experiments. I shook my head vigorously at her and narrowed my eyes, scratching my face once. She gave me a contemplative look before switching her right hand to show three fingers. It was still too many. I was about to shake my head again when I heard it.

"You know, Link, I've been speaking with your mother. She suggested that I start to spend a few hours every week helping her manage some of your estate."

The implications shocked me enough that I lurched a little where I stood. Zelda, the conniving witch that she was, noticed and flicked another finger up to four. I scowled at her extortion and nodded slightly. She got up from her seat immediately and walked over, past me, and to my mother who had been watching our negotiation with a shrewd eye. She met Zelda halfway and they entered the fray together. 

"Link, why don't you take the lady home? I'll be back in a few hours." My mother said.

It was as scandalous a suggestion as she was likely to say. Implying that Zelda and I had her blessing to return to my home without any type of chaperone. I did my best to keep my face impassive as I brushed past the stunned women and walked woodenly to Zelda. I offered my arm and tried not to run out the door faster than she could walk. It wasn't until Zelda turned to me after we left the building that I recalled what I promised to her so that she would create that horrifying display with my mother.

"So, I think we'll start with a potion of strength." She teasingly squeezed my bicep in imitation of the girls inside.


	9. "I'm Sorry, I Didn't Know"

Link woke from his coma after several days. I had taken to sitting with his unmoving body in the mornings when I was most melancholic. I have found that passing my sister's bleak memorial was especially distressing when I knew the man she had loved so fiercely lay equally unmoving a floor below in the infirmary. I know from my father's recollections that Mipha had spent much of her short life in these rooms where she could ease the most suffering. Her little touches are mostly gone now, but I like to imagine that she ordered the beds to face the windows or that she was the one that labeled the jars so carefully even if the contents had been emptied and refilled hundreds of times since she last stood where I did now. I don't know, of course, and I am afraid to ask for fear that my sister's life did not affect the place she worked so hard in. If I closed my eyes, I could almost imagine her walking in the room, but my memories of her are so limited that I see her with stone-gray scales and sightless gray eyes.

Mipha would have known what to say when Link woke up in such a fright this morning. His blue eyes opened abruptly and his whole body tensed. His hands grasped at the sheets for a moment and his eyes darted about the room. He relaxed after a moment when he seemed to register that he was in a place of safety that he recognized.

"Sidon," Link rasped out after his sluggish brain registered my presence.

"Link!" I said, "It's so good to see you awake. You had us all worried."

That might have been a little bit of an over-statement. Most of the residents of the Domain didn't know that Link was here at all - and those that did weren't aware of how serious his injuries were. However, I am certain that Link would take heart in the knowledge that we care for him. He has been quite the source of gossip since Vah Ruta stopped her rampage and I have made it my mission to ensure that every citizen of the Domain was aware of our savior's identity. Link would find a home with the Zora after this amazing feat.

"What happened?" He asked, diverting me from my reverie.

"I am not certain," I answered, thinking back to where I found him on the floor of Vah Ruta. Entering the Beast terrified me and it took all my courage to search the strange mechanical animal level by level for the tiny Hylian. "You battled something inside of Vah Ruta and hit your head quite hard. You have been unconscious for several days, but I am told that you are sure to make a full recovery!"

"Huh," Link said. He still seemed a little muddled and stared at his hands in frustration. "I must have been doing something careless. I know I must have done plenty of stupid things in the past, just look at me."

He said it in the tone of a joke, but he raised his scarred hands to show me old scars etched into his hands and up his forearms they branched and twisted in the form of tiny electric bolts.

"Those are not scars you obtained from a worthless endeavor." I couldn't help my clipped tone. "Those are the scars of a brave boy who saved my life when we were eight years old."

"I-I'm sorry," Link said, taken aback, "I didn't know. I don't remember much. Of anything really."

"I apologize, Link. I was overcome for a moment. Please forgive me."


	10. Hallucinations

Daruk's booming voice jolted Link a little from behind. 

"Watch out, Little Guy!" 

Link ducked and a huge boulder of magma soared just overhead. The rock slammed into the tunnel wall and shook the ground. Link yanked a heavy two-handed axe from his back and spun to face the giant talus standing behind him. The orange glow of Daruk's power glowed in front of him and enhanced the lava red color of the monster. 

"Can you climb that wall, brother?" Daruk shouted, "You could get him from above and end this quickly. We'll be back in Goron City in time for dinner. I've wanted a rock roast for ages."

Link nodded and lept up the sheer cliff towards Goron City. It took four big jumps to make it to the top before he turned and pulled out his bow. A quick couple of arrows caused the giant to combust and spew rocks and gems all over the floor.

"Way to go Little Guy! I knew you could do it!"

\---

"Pathetic."

Revali's voice was as unwelcome as always. Nothing tempered his bad attitude. 

"I mean, I understand Hylian's are basically useless, but wandering into Hebra when you should be with the Princess? That's just unconscionable."

Link ignored him and continued trudging up the mountainside one step at a time. The snow was deep and he sunk in several inches with each step. If Revali would stop talking for just two minutes he'd ask to be flown to the top. It was cold enough that Link was willing to prostrate himself for the chance to get out of the snow and to his destination faster.

"Why are you here anyway? What could possibly be so interesting that you are shirking your duty to the Princess and to Hyrule? If I were the Champion, I would let nothing distract me from my commitments."

Link waited for a moment to see if Revali would continue. When the silence was only broken by a gust of wind, Link bent and asked for a lift with as much respect as he could muster. 

"Humph," Revali snorted, "I am not a worthless mule that's only job is to carry you around. I am a famed Rito warrior! I am a Champion of Hyrule! I suppose this is some test that you have devised to see if I am willing to make sacrifices for my people and for Hyrule... Very well. I will carry you. But only because you are too useless to fly yourself to the top."

Link's knees creaked painfully when Revali dropped him to the ground at a little too high a height.

\---

A light breeze carried the chatter of voices over the eastern wall of Gerudo Town. The sun and the women of the city were rising together while Link listened in from the outside. There wasn't anyone around to see as he yanked off his blue champion tunic and wrapped the Gerudo silks around his chest. He pulled and tucked the fabric until the simulated female shape appeared and then bent to replace his Hylian trousers as well.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Link froze with his trousers around his ankles. It was Lady Urbosa. 

"The Appointed Knight to the Princess of Hyrule. Caught with his underthings exposed while changing into vai clothing and, I presume, planning to break the ancient laws of the Gerudo and enter our city."

Link regained enough control over his limbs to flinch at the accurate description of the situation she found him in. 

"I suppose you want me to overlook this... imprudence?"

Link slowly straightened at what might not have been permission, but was certainly not censure. Shameless, he pulled his trousers the rest of the way off before pulling on the Gerudo set and fiddling with his veil. He allowed his expression to slip under the shield of fabric and sent a mischievous look to the side with a slight tilt of his head. 

"Yes, yes, you look very believable. But don't let me catch you again. Or worse, one of the guards."

\---

"Link, you know I have always thought very highly of you..." Mipha started, "We spoke once before about spending more time together and I think you may not have understood..."

Mipha paused and looked around in distress for a moment before trying again.

"Link," She said, "We've known each other a long time. You've always held a special place in my heart. My feelings..."

Mipha stopped again and gave another glance around.

"Link," She said in a different tone, "Do we have to do this here? You know how uncomfortable that statue makes me."

Link didn't glance at her but continued staring at the larger than life statue of Princess Mipha. 

"Yes, I remember her a little," Link said to Sidon, "Her voice was airy and light. It was as healing as her touch. I think about her a lot."


	11. "Who Are You"

I'm not sure what I expected after the Calamity ended. To be fair, I didn't think it would happen at all since it had been raging since before I was born. Before my parents were born. I remember vividly my first glimpse of the castle surrounded by the black, curdled smoke and the horrifying flying monster made entirely of hatred and malice. 

I was ten and my parents decided I was finally old enough to know why we never left the village. Why so few travelers visited our little town despite their assurances that there were more Hylians out there. We saw the Zora most often, although even that was rare. They would swim down the rivers and bypass much of the danger on the road. Occasionally we would get a tall Gerudo lady looking for true love. Once we had a Rito in the village at the same time as a lady and they fell in love. I've never seen one, but mother said that there were a people made entirely of rocks that lived north of the Zora. I didn't believe her for years and years.

We walked up the pathway to the Great Fairy's purported home and passed through the wood in silence - I was well on my way to mastering the basics of Sheikah training. My father made us wait when we crossed the bridge so he could go ahead and scout the last hill. He came back after a time and waved us along. At the top, we looked at the castle and my mother told me the story of the Calamity. It was a terrible ending to the half-told story of Princess Zelda that I had known my whole life.

After that day I trained harder and imagined how the Princess must have loved her knight so much to be willing to face something so terrifying all on her own for just the chance of seeing him again. I dreamed of a boy so perfect that he inspired such love. He must have been brave and fierce and kind and sweet. When I got older and became interested in the few boys in our village who were not related to me I found myself comparing them to the perfect knight who would wake up and save Hyrule and the Princess. None measured up. 

It was a shock to us all when Link wandered into town. He didn't seem much like the stories. He was dirty for one, I assumed that the perfect appointed knight to the Princess would be dashing and dressed in finery and look like, well like a knight. Instead, he was a dirty vagabond dressed in too-short trousers and a shirt that looked like he had fished it out the bottom of a lake. He didn't even have shoes on. A bundle of sticks and rusty swords were strapped to his back and what looked like a pigskin stretched over a pot lid that I think was supposed to be used as a shield. There was no way this tramp could be the chosen knight. But he was. He truly was. Grandmother loved him on sight and no longer appeared to be wasting away from life. Her purpose had been restored with one glance at that filthy, feral man.

He looked much better kitted out in the Champion blue tunic grandmother saved. He found some shoes and the bathhouse which probably made the most difference. Then he talked with me. He was everything I had imagined and more. Sweet and kind, knowledgable and interested in my recommendations, and oh so determined to save his Princess. I was smitten after just one conversation, after two I realized that the man who remembered nothing of his life was still in love with the Princess who guarded us all from her prison in Hyrule Castle. He spoke of her like a dear friend and a diety rolled together; a mix of familiarity and awe. I never stood a chance. 

He only stayed in town for a day or two at a time, always flitting about the country and returning with stories of lands I had never seen and people I had never heard of (what on earth is a korok?) Every time he returned he had new armor, new weapons, new resolve. Sometimes we would hear a great rumble and crash and I would run up the hill and across the bridge and look to see a red laser pointed at the castle from another corner of Hyrule and know that Link was one step closer to his Princess. Yet somehow, it never occurred to me to think about what it would be like after it was all over. When the Calamity was gone and Link would return to tell the story of how he defeated the monster and saved the Princess. I guess I assumed it would be like all the other times when he would return and pull me aside to tell me a story while I stammered my way through a congratulation.

What really happened was quite different. Link did return, but more than a week after the great ruckus and boom that terrified us all in the village. He came slowly on foot rather than racing his way into town on a galloping horse. He walked past me without a single glance and had a frozen look on his face. A girl was with him wearing ill-fitting male clothes that must have belonged to Link, she had wild blond hair that wasn't dirty, but also wasn't clean. It looked almost dusty. Link helped her from the horse and bustled her into Grandmother's home without making eye contact with anyone. I followed and stood just outside the door.

"Princess Zelda! At last, you are home again!" That was Grandmother's voice.

"Yes..." The Princess's voice was timid and quiet and a little hoarse from disuse. "I am glad to be here."

"Sit down, lass. I want to hear what happened since I last saw you."

There was a shuffling noise as the Princess and Link presumably followed Grandmother's orders.

"Impa," Link's voice didn't carry as well that the women's. I had to press my ear against the doorframe to hear him properly, "There is something you need to know about her Highness."

There was a pause and I pressed my ear harder to the door in case Link was talking again, but somehow quieter. 

"Yes? Is there a problem?"

"Yes." The Princess sounded distraught.

"No," Link said over the Princess. I don't think I've ever heard that tone of voice from him before, "Her Highness has returned from the Calamity, but she is living with the same consequence that I have dealt with since my awakening in the Shrine of Ressurection."

I waited with bated breath to hear what this consequence was. I had never noticed Link suffering from anything in all the time he spent with me. My cheeks burned with shame at the thought that I never noticed anything amiss with Link when something had clearly troubled him. 

"It will likely shock you," Link said gently, "But Princess Zelda has no more memory of the times before the rise of Calamity Ganon than I do."

My eyes widened and I heard the sound of a shattering teacup on the other side of the door.


	12. Hiding An Injury

"I'll find something for dinner," Urbosa said. She stomped out of the campsite as if the sound would make up for the lack of her usual speed. It was obvious to me that something wasn't right with her, but the rest of the campsite seemed not to notice. I picked up my bow and followed her out of camp. The Princess would be safe enough with the three other soldiers traveling with us. 

I followed Urbosa's obvious trail through the forest until I caught a glimpse of her staring at a wild boar in a clearing. She didn't move to take it despite needing to find enough food to feed six people. Instead, she bent to the ground and pulled up a large Hylian mushroom, and dumped it into a pack at her waist. It was already full of mushrooms. 

I frowned, but quickly pulled an arrow from my quiver before the boar noticed us standing around. My shot struck the boar at the shoulder and pierced deeply. The animal squealed in fear and rushed towards Urbosa before falling to the ground with a thump. Dead. 

"Why didn't you shoot it," I asked, "You have enough mushrooms already."

Urbosa gave me a level look and slowly raised her skirt. My face burned hot red and I quickly looked up at the sky. I tried to ask what she was doing, but really I just made an odd gurgling sound.

"Relax, boy," Urbosa laughed, "You can look."

"With respect, no I can't!"

"I'm not showing you anything you shouldn't see, your innocence will be intact, sir knight."

She was mocking me. I could feel the burn spread to the tips of my ears as I quickly glanced down at her and then back up. And then back down. She had a huge bite tearing at the flesh in her upper thigh.

"What-?" I hurried over to her and grabbed her leg to get a closer look before releasing it as if scalded. I looked up at her face from my place kneeling between her nearly bare legs. She was smiling wickedly at my flustered expression. I cleared my throat and moved back an inch. "What happened?" My voice was a tad higher than normal.

"I got bit by a fucking bokoblin is what happened. Don't tell anyone, they'll take me off the Princess's detail and I'll have to depart for Gerudo Town sooner. This is the only way I get to visit with the Princess."

I will not be telling anyone about any of the events in this forest. I assure her that there will not be a single soul that will ever know that I got a look at any injury she has or doesn't have beneath her skirt.

She just laughed at me.


	13. "I Didn't Mean It"

I'd worked for months and did everything I could think of to prepare. I asked everyone I could think of for advice. I don't know how it could have gone so, so wrong. 

I've known Link for his whole life, he was born here and he spent the first few years of his life as one of the many urchins galavanting through the city like little nobles. The children of the Domain were raised as a group and he was adopted in like any guppy. When his father moved on from his posting in the Domain, Link disappeared from my life for a while. It felt like a short time to me, but seeing him at fifteen was a shock. He was no longer a small child to mind and mend, but a man. He was a soldier in the Hylian army, a respected warrior, and an accomplished archer.   
We got to know each other better during this visit. This time it was his own posting that brought him to the Domain so we spent time on patrol together and trained in the same yard. When he got shocked by the electric lizalfos, I healed the burns.  
"You've gotten better at this," he'd said. 

"Yes." I turned over his hands in mind to inspect the network of branching scarring from the childhood injury I couldn't quite heal for him. The new burns were already gone and wouldn't leave a permanent mark such as these.

He stayed for a year before being reassigned to Hateno. I visited when I could, and each time I returned home I felt that I was going the wrong way. I should be spending my life going towards him not away. His life was so short. Each moment I spent without him meant a change and a difference in him that would be visible. He would age both before my eyes and away from them.

I'd prefer it happen while I watched. While I aged with him, even as slowly as I would. 

"I'm so glad you visit me, Mipha," Link said during one of my visits. I floated on a small pond and he had his feet dunked in behind me. I could imagine the slight smile he wore when he thought no one was watching. "It's hard to be away from everyone I care about. I thought being so close to home would be better, but it just makes me feel farther away"

"The ones that love you are never far away, Link," I said, "We miss you too, but we're always just a letter away."

"I don't know what I would do without you."

It was only a few weeks later that a letter did find its way to me from Link. The Rito delivering the message waited with bated breath as I opened the letter. It seemed odd until I read what Link had written. 

The Sword that Seals the Darkness. 

Link was the ancient hero who was destined to save Hyrule from the Calamity. My heart had nearly thumped out of my chest with pride and fear. It wasn't hard to believe that the man who had so captured my heart was essential to the wellbeing of the whole country.

So I worked and worked and worked to create a gift worthy of such a man. Something useful and safe and protective. He would wear it and be safe. He would wear it and know that I loved him and would protect him no matter how far he traveled. 

My father suggested that I speak with him before presenting my gift. He told me he loved me many times, but we had never laid all our cards on the table. It was time to do so before any further action was taken. 

I traveled to Castle Town at the request of the King and watched as Link swore himself to Princess Zelda. His eyes were full of dedication and bravery. I wasn't used to seeing him so formal and determined, but the look in his eyes made my heart clench. Hylia had made a good choice in her champion. 

The Princess dismissed him as soon as possible and I swooped in while he was still reeling from her attitude to hurry him down to the pools. The sudden change in locale seemed to have jarred him.

"She seems so angry," He said as I pulled him down to the ground and urged him to at least remove his shoes. "I know she doesn't want a guard, but I thought we could be friends. I'm her champion. I thought..."

He trailed off and seemed to deflate. He opened his mouth again but didn't say anything.

"I'm sure you'll charm her eventually," I said encouragingly, "You get everyone in the end, Link. I don't know a single person that isn't half in love with you after spending an hour in your company."

He huffed a laugh and finally pulled his boots off. He dunked his feet in the water next to mine and kicked gently. We sat in silence together for a while. He was restful company.

"That just makes it worse," He said at length, "With so many people to love throughout Hyrule, I'm so worried about everyone. I just want to take everyone I love and ship them off to safety. Then they would be safe and the Princess would be safe and you and I can destroy Ganon with the other Champions." 

I was surprised at the confession that he cared enough for the Princess to include her in the people he wanted to protect so much. I suppose he was like most soldiers and conflated the Princess with the country as a whole. Sometimes he could be so simple. 

He must have misinterpreted the odd pause as I considered his words because his eyes widened and he looked fearful for a moment, "I didn't mean that! You know I love you too, Mipha. I want to protect you as well, but I know you're capable. You've knocked me on my ass too many times for me to discount your help in a fight. But, I'd save you too if I could. You're the sister I never had."

I froze a smile on my face and tossed out a quick "I know what you meant" before diving fully into the water. I just needed a moment. Just a second of time to mourn. Sister was okay. Sister meant care and love and a lifetime together as well. Just not real love. Not the true, deep, all-encompassing love that I felt.


	14. "Run, Don't Look Back"

I hear the Princess's gasp of fear in my dreams sometimes. I've heard worse from her, but something about that moment has stuck to my brain like a rot. It takes over everything else. I can deal with her scream of my name as she believes a death blow is coming my way. I can deal with the forlorn desperation in her voice as she cries for her kingdom and her people, but the quiet gasp of terror as she is presented with a physical manifestation of her own mortality is what I remember over and over.

I wake at night sweaty and gasping as I remember that awful day. It could have been just another memory for me, maybe even a better one of the many times I have saved her life, but her emotional turmoil spoils any silver lining I try to conjure. 

She gasped and I turned instantly. I had become so in tune with her breathing and her footsteps that it was subconscious. I moved at her gasp the same way I would move when touching a hot stove. Instinctive. Reflexive. She had a red dot flickering on her chest above the low neckline of her prayer dress and she had frozen in shock looking at the target marking her for death. 

I knew I had time, so I gently laid my gloved hand on her bare arm. It was slow so that she knew she didn't need to move or do anything at all to be safe. Trust had taken a long time to manifest between us, but she did eventually learn to trust me and my instinctual response to any threat she encounters. Placing my body between her and harm's way was so easy when she relaxes and looks over my shoulder in interest. She may have gasped in fear, but she wasn't afraid when she knew that I was in front of her, shield at the ready

If that had been the end of it then it would be one of my better rescues. She was only afraid for a moment, knew to depend on me, I got there with plenty of time to spare, a one-hit neutralization of a threat that didn't require me to move away or draw an enemy close to her person, and, though I am ashamed I liked it, I got to touch the Princess familiarly and she responded to my touch positively.

Unfortunately, her father was then surrounded by more Guardians and he ordered me to take her away. She cried and that familiar touch I was so elated by became hard. I had to wretch her arm from the socket to get her to follow me. She dug her sharp nails into my fingers in an attempt to get me to release her from my grip. She kept trying to look back and I kept trying to get her to trip so she would look forward instead of back. I couldn't give her much. I couldn't give her anything. But I could stop her from seeing the moment of her father's death and prevent the memory of his body falling to the floor. 

So I dream of the gasp that started it all. A simple rescue that turned into the moment that I was forced to hurt my charge. The moment she felt safety melt away and clawed and scratched and cried to be released. 

I will never, ever forget.


	15. Broken Bones

The new Hylian champion was not what anyone expected. We awaited the warrior with the sacred blade but expected something else. Something more than a young man with a sword he couldn't handle. 

The boy was short for his age and kept his face clean-shaven which made him look younger than his seventeen years. He kept a stoic look on his face, but it was new. He hadn't had practice pretending that the words and actions of others don't bother him so it slipped often. The Princess was his weakness. He looked shocked at her rage, determined when she spoke, and dangerous when others disparaged her. 

Link was a soldier which made the King happy. All he wanted was a good little rule follower that would defer to him in all things and chain the Princess farther into her duty until there was nothing left of her. My job today was to find out if the soldier had any ability for creative thinking, for leadership, and maybe even for lying. He was a longbowman in the Hylian army which meant that he wasn't trained in swordplay and he will need lessons. I framed my interrogation as a starting lesson for him. A "let's see what we have to work with lesson". The good little soldier accepted and we found our way to a quiet courtyard instead of the big practice field.

The Princess looked on from a window several floors up and I did my best not to check that she was hidden. It wouldn't do for Link to realize that he was being tested. 

We stood several paces apart with practice weapons drawn. The wooden replica of the Master Sword made him look scrawny where he stood across from me. He may have been coached on the proper grip and stance already or maybe his balance could be attributed to the years of dedication it takes to become a competent archer in the military. I come closer to him and say "Try to hit me."

He moved quickly. Instead of the lunge and wild swing, I expected from a novice, he took a step to the right and swept the sword low to the ground. I had to jump backwards to avoid a thump to my shins. I recovered quickly and gave him another opening by telegraphing my high hit without any feint. He took the opening I gave with an attack to my midsection where my shield would have been held if I had one. I jumped again to avoid the blow and brought the sword down on his shoulder rapping him smartly. He huffed out a breath at the blow and bent with the momentum of my blade. It was harder for me to recover and he grabbed the extra seconds to scrape his sword in the direction of my legs again. 

He clearly knew some fighting forms and tactics for close combat. I decided to move on from the general fighting tests and into some more interesting questions about how he handles surprises. I teleported before his sword could make contact with my shins. His momentum carried him forward and he nearly toppled to the ground. His face was priceless like a puppy who just discovered that grass isn't a treat. Complete desolation that the world isn't as it expected. He recovered a little slower this time and the mask came back down over his face and his expressive blue eyes shifted back to ice. 

We fight for several more minutes and I pull out progressively dirtier tricks. I teleport and multiply and surround him and throw things. He's frustratingly controlled and shows no more shock after my first surprise as if, once tricked, he expects every twitch of my body to be a trick and accounts for it. Somehow, that doesn't put him first in the fight. He blocks and avoids and misses by inches over and over. I occasionally get in a hit, but it's always strategic like when I hit his shoulder in the beginning. There is a purpose and a calculation behind his icy eyes. I need to try a different tactic to get him to lose control and make real mistakes. 

"I'd think you'd be better at this," I say to attack his pride, "The Chosen knight can't defeat a single Sheikah warrior."

He acts as if he can't hear my words. 

"Between you and the Princess, we're all be doomed. The average swordsman and the powerless Princess."

Something in him snapped - the Princess was his weak spot. I expected mistakes and sloppy form and an all-out assault. Instead, he nodded at me and the glaciers disappeared from his eyes. The blue changed to the center of a flame where it burned hottest. My next attack landed on his arm with a loud crack. He used the moment to grab my dull blade and wrench it from my grip and knock me to the ground in one short movement. He was breathing heavily and his body was shaking. His sword was shock-still at my neck.

"You can't grab a real blade in combat."

He glared at me. "I can."

That's when I realized that the crack I heard was his arm breaking and that same arm was the one that pulled a sword from my grip and tossed me to the ground. He passed my test.


	16. Field Surgery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm running a little behind because of a power outage that has lasted multiple days in sub-freezing temperatures. And now a boil water warning has been posted. I'll catch up when I can.

"Come on, Link," I said quietly, "I'll get the fire going. You need to look after yourself right now."

We had made it to a rocky cliffside with a small cave tucked away under a mossy overhang after a fight that turned sour when rain started coming down. Link took several blows from a pack of Bokoblins before he was able to clear out their camp. His face and shoulder dripped blood and he was favoring his right leg slightly. I grabbed the flint out of his fingers and gave him my most ferocious glare. As usual, he stared back silently with blank eyes. 

"Now Link," I said again. 

He frowned but turned to dig through his pack for the little medical kit he keeps on hand. He produces the hard metal box and pops it open to display the wide array of supplies he has tucked away. He's more prepared than most knights which I attribute to his friendship with the best healer in the country. I doubt Mipha would let Link walk out of Zora's Domain without a thorough inspection of his kit. It has leather straps keeping his potions neatly stacked to one side and a neat pile of tools on the other. Two bottles, a small spool of thread, and a little tin are all set to the side before Link snaps the lid closed again. He glances at me and frowns once again. I hurriedly turn back to my fledgling flame and rush to feed it more tinder before it sputtered out. 

He brings his supplies closer to the fire and sits next to me. The red bottle is opened and an earthy scent emanated from it before he tipped it into his mouth. I kept one eye on the flames while he rolled up his trouser leg to show a ghastly bruise forming over the top of his shin. The little tin turned out to be an ice chu jelly paste that he worked into his leg with clenched teeth. I heated up some of his little pre-made meals over the fire. We ate in silence after he finished with his leg and watched the little fire flicker. I opened my mouth several times to apologize for going on this trip, but I never got up my nerve. We were ordered here by my father, but since I didn't end up with any powers it was pointless. He got hurt because he was following me around on pointless trips through dangerous territory. 

We tossed our scraps into the fire and the whole cave smelt lightly of mushrooms. Link pulled off his tunic and undershirt so that he was bare from the waist up without even his armguards. He opened the bottle of clear liquid carefully and splashed a small amount on a handkerchief to dab over the gash on his shoulder. He sucked in a breath when the alcohol hit the open wound for the first time. He twisted oddly and stretched to reach, but it was clear that he wasn't going to be able to finish the job himself. I scooted my way over to him and plucked the cloth out of his hand. 

"Let me," I said softly, "You won't be able to reach."

He didn't say anything, but turned to stare at the flames again. I took a deep breath before placing my free hand lightly on his bare back and ignored the way his body shivered at my touch. He twitched when I brought the cloth up again and began to wipe away the blood and dirt that covered the ragged wound. It dug deep into the muscle of his shoulder and curved slightly towards his shoulder blade, but was short - only a couple inches in length. I pull away when I'm finished and fold his handkerchief so the blood is contained on the inside. It's still a little damp so when he turns to thank me I catch his chin in my free hand. His eyes are shocked and dart about my face as if he can't decide where to look. I tip his head to the side and pat the cut on his forehead gently and try not to blush when he decides to stare directly into my eyes.

"There," I say when finished, "Good as new. You'll need me to sew you up, I assume? Your back is quite deep and while you are certainly flexible, I don't think you'll be able to do that yourself either."

He waits a moment before nodding to me. My eyes are wide with shock when he picks up the alcohol and takes a generous swig directly from the bottle. He shakes his head like a dog at what I am sure was a horrible taste.

"Here, Princess." The spool of thread is handed to me and I slowly thread the narrow curved needle.

"I've never done this before," I warn him. He just nods to me and turns to look over his shoulder at my work.

I set the needle to his flesh and try to control my breathing before gently pressing it into his skin. He is stiff under my hands and I'm certain that he is suppressing the twitches and groans of pain for my sake. I put my free hand on his back again ostensibly to have better control over the needle while I sew. His skin resists with every stitch, but the flesh underneath is easy to slide through and I have to be careful to not dig too deeply, the curved needle helps and I am able to tie neat little knots over each stitch down the cut. My hand rubs gentle circles into his back until I hit the halfway point. I stop for a moment and Link gives a shudder. He tips a little more of the alcohol into his mouth and keeps his eyes closed before nodding at me once again. 

My free hand finds a new spot to rest that causes Link to let out another shudder and I follow suit. We don't talk about it but we look at each other, his eyes are unshielded for once and I see pain reflected back at me. I'm not sure if it's from his injuries or from something deeper within. I dig the needle in again and the moment is gone. The last inch is quickly stitched and tied off and I resist the impulse to run my fingers along the line of stitches like I would when finishing a cloth. 

Link doesn't pull away when I'm done and I sit with my hand rubbing circles into his lower back while he packs up his little kit. When I finally pull my hand away he lets out a slow breath.


	17. "I Can't See"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Super short today.
> 
> I don't really recommend living in Texas.

The calamity is not what I thought it was. I thought it would be a person or a beast. All the histories detail a fight against a creature of some kind. The ancient carvings of the last calamity show the golden princess and the Zonai hero battling a great beast with terrible tusks. 

When the Calamity struck and Link fell I believed the Calamity was the animal that swirled around my castle. I was terrified to walk into the throne room without Link to act as my shield against danger. My new powers were sufficient but did not give me the sense of safety that I was accustomed to within Link's presence.

It wasn't until the beast swallowed me whole that I learned the truth. The Calamity was not a beast, or a person, or anything tangible. The Calamity was an idea and a spirit. The Calamity was insidious and fed off the despair of any person caught in its grasp. The people of Castle Town helped to create the Calamity for years by doubting my powers and believing that there was no hope. When the beast spiraled out from below the castle, the sudden panic gave the Calamity the power to infect all our Guardians in one fell swoop. 

I used my powers to lock out the Despair of Hyrule that existed beyond the Castle. So many believed that I locked the Calamity in, but truly, I locked them out. It fed for centuries on the hopelessness of those who broke into the Castle. And on my own. As the years passed, my hope deteriorated. I couldn't see, I couldn't feel, I didn't know if Link lived or died in the Shrine of Resurrection.

I listened for his footsteps, but they didn't come. For years and years and years I listened and they never came. All I could hear was the Despair and the Calamity feeding. In truth, I both stopped the Calamity from destroying my people and I kept it alive to hover over their lives.


	18. Sleep Deprivation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if I'm going to finish Febuwhump. The power outage is over thank goodness and the weather is warming up so I'm not likely to freeze in my home, but we have an ongoing emergency and I'm spending most of my time trying to find food and safe water.

"My Little Bird is growing fast, I see a little more of her innocence chipped away every day." The Queen sounded desolate. "Roham and I have been so worried about the prophecy that I fear my child will never have the charmed life that I assumed she would lead."

We sat on a rich carpet laid out over the stones of the Spring of Power. The soft fibers were almost enough to keep the hard stone floor from my mind while we watched the tiny princess wade through the warm waters in ritual prayer. One circle windward for her hopes for the future and one circle leeward for wisdom from the past. The wind was trapped in the depressed spring and the Queen used a piece of cloth to help Zelda see which direction it blew so she could follow the path it took.

"I'm not sure how to help her, this is a task that must be discovered by each Princess of Hyrule. My own Awakening occurred with little fanfare. Zelda must find her spirit in the springs and follow it to its conclusion. The Goddess only rewards those who follow their path without flinching. My little bird will have a perilous path."

The Princess never stopped walking and turning and walking. Back straight, head high, she looked like a princess even at five years old. Her words were lost on the faint breeze, but her lips moved with her unfaltering steps.

**

The Queen died within a year of the Princess's first steps into training. With no guide and only childhood memories to help learn her task, Zelda was forced to continue with her training alone. I followed her on her neverending Pilgrimage between the Spring of Courage and the Spring of Power. Eventually, she stopped asking to go home. Her loving father was barely a memory having been pushed out in favor of the hard-faced and unrelenting King that ordered her away. In a fit of rage, he tore from the Princess any physical memory of the Queen and forbade the cloth aids she used as a child to follow the winds. He believed she needed no assistance after so many years of study.

I could do nothing but follow my little bird and stand guard while she struggled to find whatever was necessary for her awakening. 

"Does the Goddess say anything?" I couldn't help but ask after another fruitless day. She takes a while to think about my question before answering. Even at eight she did not speak without thinking carefully.

"She doesn't say anything. But she shows me pictures, I think," She paused again, "I sometimes see a wooden house with a brown horse. It's pretty and sometimes a tall man is brushing her. Sometimes I see a stone doorway. I think that's the castle, but I don't know which door it is. Father never lets me explore."

"I'm sure you'll find the door eventually," I say, "Maybe that's what we should be looking for. Your mother used to say that you only find your purpose while in communion with the Goddess and you must go forth to follow it after you discover it."

She turned away so I could barely see the nod she gave. Her mother's death was still hard for her. She lost a mother and a father that day and now after so many fruitless prayers she probably believes she lost her future as well. It's a lot of weight for such a tiny thing to carry.

**

When the Princess was ten the King decided to send soldiers with her on her journeys. Civilians would gather on the roadsides and wait at the springs to see the Princess and try to speak with her. The guards would clear them out and keep everything away while the Princess prayed in complete silence. At the Spring of Power, the Princess described a great forest full of little sprites shown to her by the Goddess and then a vision in a great field with scarecrows lined up and painted with targets on their chests.

That sounded like a training yard to me, so as we traveled down to the Spring of Courage, we stopped at as many garrisons as the guard would allow. We would sit while they resupplied and watched the young men shout and grunt their way through training dummy after training dummy. Occasionally, the Princess would perk up at the clash of sword on sword during a practice bout. But no place was familiar to her and the visions kept changing. There didn't seem to be any common thread among the visions to indicate what her "spirit" would be and I had no answers for her silent tears. 

At the Spring of Courage, the soldiers had a rough time getting all the townspeople out. There was a clan of dragon worshippers in the Faron woods that all wished to see the Princess perform her rites. They did not push and did not fight, but continuously slipped past the guard and could be found standing at a distance from the Princess watching her walk through the waters. 

A boy around twelve was the worst offender. He was silent as a shadow and quick as a fox. His golden hair looked like the sun's reflection and he used his camouflage to hide among the bushes and watch the Princess. I found him no less than six times and removed him from her presence. When he saw me coming close he would stand out of his hiding place and follow me silently out of the Spring. I'd have left him, but the Princess noticed his presence and she stumbled once in her circle. Unflinching the late Queen had said. I kept him out of her sight as best as I could. 

Later I asked if she had seen anything different about the field with the scarecrows and her answer terrified me. She had not seen a field this time. She saw herself, wandering the Spring in circles. Her spirit was just this endless cycle of prayer and hopelessness. 

**

Something was wrong. The Princess shivered in the Spring of Power. It had always been warm before no matter the season and the Princess was comfortable in the Spring. Now she was freezing and swaying with exhaustion.

"Please come out, Little Bird," I said, "You should have been finished hours ago."

She had stopped circling windward several hours ago and only circled to see the past.

"Please, Princess." 

"I can't!" Her voice was thin and I could barely hear it over the rough winds trapped with us in the circle. "I haven't seen anything!"

She swayed where she stood and began her circle once more. She cut a meandering path through the water and nearly fell several times. 

"She has always shown me something... But it's all gone... I haven't seen anything... since I saw myself... It's all... gone..."

She collapsed.

I barrelled into the freezing waters and pulled her bodily to safety. The guards built the fire high and we all exchanged glances. Something had changed after the Spring of Courage. She had flinched.


	19. "Don't Blame This On Me"

"You did that on purpose! Someone is going to see that and think I did it! My reputation will be in tatters!" Revali couldn't help but continue to shout. It was just too much. Link had gone too far. "What will the Princess think? She'll believe me, see if she doesn't. You may be on better terms now, but that will change after I tell her that was you!"

Link didn't say anything and continued looking up at the second-highest tower of the castle and the neat rows of Rito arrows embedded in the stones. It was tricky to see from the ground, but the arrows were arranged in the shape of a flower.

"Are you listening to me boy?! I want you to go to the Royal Guard and turn yourself in for endangering the Princess. That's her tower you defaced!" Revali was breathing heavily and glaring hard at the back of Link's head. 

"The Princess wasn't in her tower last night," Link said gruffly, "She was not endangered."

"That hardly matters when you shot at her bedroom!" 

Link was in for it this time. There was no way that this would be overlooked by the Royal Guard or by the King, Chosen Knight or no, he was in serious trouble.

"You know," Link said, "I think the ones on the study are yours."

Revali looked up at the attached study and saw there was a similar row of arrows lodged in the wall this time in the shape of the letter "R". He colored slightly under his feathers.

"What's on my study?"

The two warriors whipped their heads around. The approaching Princess kept her steps light on the stones and managed to surprise them both. They stood straighter and eyed each other, trying to determine who would explain what happened. Link slowly sunk to his knees and only said "Forgive me, Princess." Zelda frowned.

"What's going on?"

"Your knight," Revali said scornfully, "Attacked the castle last night in a drunken rage. We are all lucky that nothing terrible befell anyone in the Castle."

"Hmm. That doesn't sound like my dutiful knight."

"You clearly don't know him as well as you should, Princess. He's a danger to us all and does not deserve the honors bestowed upon him."

"Link," The Princess said severely, "Explain yourself."

Link shuffled lightly from his place on the ground and spoke to his toes. "I'm sorry, Princess. It won't happen again."

"I said explain yourself, not apologize to me." 

"I- you were there, Princess- " Link faltered, "We drank a little too much and I suggested some target practice. I let my competitive nature get the better of me and gave in to an inappropriate target."

"Which was...?"

"Your bedroom, your Highness."

"And the arrows on my study?"

"It was a competition, those were Revali's efforts."

Silence.

"You both should be ashamed of yourselves. Link, come with me, I will be speaking to your commanding officer. Revali, I must ask you to return to Rito Village until this is cleaned up."

Zelda turned and strode off towards the Royal Guardtower. Link stumbled to his feet to follow while Revali took to the skies with a huge gust of wind. He fell into step several paces behind Zelda.

"What do you think should be your reward?"

"My what?" Link asked, dumbfounded.

"Your reward. You were clearly the better shot. Your lines are much straighter. And besides, you were easily twice as drunk as Revali. I've never heard such language in my life."


	20. Burned

I cataloged every look that came my way and filed it for contemplation. So little was given away from day to day that the small snatches were all I had to determine his thoughts, his dislikes, his personality. I've been a scientist for as long as I can remember and I believed that I was observant, but I was woefully unprepared for a challenge of this magnitude. Until now, everything I studied seemed to want to be studied. When I discovered something new it was obvious: a snap before a crack appears, a slow fading to a new color, a series of beeps when a guardian comes online. Link did not wish to be studied. When I discovered something new he did all he could to hide that anything happened at all. I stepped on his foot once and he didn't flinch or stumble or anything. He simply stepped to the side out of my way and waited for me to give him orders without a flicker of emotion or feeling.

So I watched and waited for him to slip up. He knew I watched him of course. I couldn't keep anything from him if I tried and I needed to make a thorough enough study to learn anything about him. He did his best to keep himself from me and I did my best to subvert his wish. The first expression I learned was the easiest to coax out of Link. His jaw would tighten and his eyes would scrunch ever so slightly. I was not good at eliciting this reaction, but Link was susceptible to anger when nearly anyone else accosted him. 

When we were in the castle his anger would follow him like a storm. If I spoke to the High Priest it would palpitate around his edges and while in conference with my father he would tamp it down to the smallest simmer. He would try to cover his disgust with the ladies that followed him while he followed me about the castle.

It was easier to recognize when he wasn't trying to cover it up. When I was accosted in a marketplace by well-meaning citizens he could frost the earth. His face was chiseled from marble when he felt people were taking liberties with my time and my safety. An aura of danger extended from his very bones to encircle me in a safety net of his protection. Shop keepers would fall over themselves to offer me their wares then slip away with one glance at my stoic protector. Crowds would part in deference to the crown then scatter.

Happiness was as easy to identify as anger for all that he was so rarely happy.

When he was angry every fiber of his being was tense, when he was happy it all released and he looked innocent as a child. His face opened and tilted to the sun, his movements were languid. He was so rarely relaxed that I only saw this while I spied upon him interacting with soldiers in the mess. He wasn't boisterous or talkative, but he certainly seemed to have friends. He sat atop one of the long wooden tables with a cup of something while one of his friends gesticulated wildly. Link didn't laugh, but his shoulders loosed and he slouched where he sat.

He was happy in the practice yard as well. I frequently stood on the ramparts overlooking the soldiers at work and looked for my knight in the crowd of bodies. He was tricky to find since he was so short, but if you looked long enough for his unusual golden hair he would appear. He usually worked on his swordplay and sparred against opponents twice his size, but when his head tipped towards the sky and his shoulders relaxed he would always head to the archery range and pick up a bow. 

It wasn't until after we were on better terms that I discovered the next crack in his expressionless armor. I often mistook it for anger and it wasn't until he refuted it that I began to look closer and see something different. 

We stood together as a team and his face tightened. A near grinding sound could be heard when he clenched his jaw into a square as crowds cheered for us. But the aura of danger did not cloud around me. The absence was staggering and it took me ages to realize that it was too much for him to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Princess of Hyrule and be the Chosen Knight to the people. He was afraid, he was overwhelmed, he was shy.

Once I saw it, I couldn't stop seeing it. Everything overwhelmed the poor man. He was terrified of women generally and Impa especially. He was uncomfortable in crowds and didn't like to be indoors. He was fine with the champions for a while but didn't like to be alone with Mipha, and eventually, something happened and he started hiding from Urbosa as well. The only time he seemed to be genuinely comfortable was outside in the wilds.

It was out in those wilds that I saw his last expression. We were taking a day to relax between all our travels and Link had let down his guard enough to run about a field with her. We caught a frog but it got away so I rolled down a hill trying to catch it and dragged Link along with me. We tumbled together down the small hill and I laughed and laughed at our clumsiness. The frog at last got away from my reaching hand and lept out of sight entirely so I turned back to Link to exclaim my disappointment but I was caught at the last moment by the raw look on his face. A cloud covered the sun in the sky.

His gaze burned through me and the air steamed around us in the suddenly dim light. Everything about him was warm. His face wasn't the slack joy I expected, instead, it was as hard and dark as his anger. Instead of ice, there was fire and I couldn't breathe. We held our respective breaths until the cloud passed and his expression cleared with the sky.

The burns on my skin from his gaze would never heal.


	21. "Don't Look"

"Don't look."

Urbosa's voice cut like a knife through my thoughts. Her voice was low enough that only I heard her over the loud chattering of the rest of the champions. Daruk was still chortling at the result of his little prank; the picture had ended up looking ridiculous but the other champions seemed to find it charming in some way so we did not take another. It was irritating how indecorous the lot of them were. Even Mipha seemed charmed by the absurd photo, although she is likely more interested in the way the image came through as true-to-life. He hoped. He turned his face when the knight came up from behind and placed his hand on her shoulder. 

"You're too obvious, Rav," Urbosa said in the same quiet voice, "I could spot it from a mile away." 

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hmm.. I think you do. I understand where you're coming from, naturally. You are very similar after all. But her head is already turned, my friend, and she's not looking at you."

"It's that worthless knight again. As if he hasn't taken enough from me already."

I turned back to glare at the man who had everything I have wanted in life. He tore it all from under me and had the gall to look miserable about it. I regretted the decision immediately when I saw her looking at him with the simpering smile and the way she clutched at the hand resting on her shoulder. He looked uncomfortable with her ardor which only added to my hate. He had everything.

"Don't look, Revali." I directed my glare back to Urbosa. 

"Why shouldn't I? If I can't have what I want, then I want to see what the man who got it does. I didn't think my estimation of him could get any lower. He got the glory without all the work, he's an archer as well so I don't even have the uniqueness of my talents on this team, he has the most prestigious job in the kingdom, and now he has her. And he doesn't even want her! Look at him! It's disgraceful."

I cut myself off before I could say anything else or worse - before my despair turned to tears. I've been close more than once recently. It seems like everything I've worked for in life has been tossed aside for this nobody. Just because of a stupid sword. 

Mipha was nearly perfect. I respected her as a steward of her people and as a capable warrior. Those two traits I valued above all others and strove to emulate myself. She was a beautiful Zora Princess, of course, which only made her more impressive because she could have coasted through life on just that alone, but instead chose to do more. She was an inspiration. 

She was also dedicated and loyal so I knew as soon as I saw the look on her face that she would not be swayed from her feelings. I had lost to the knight again at the last thing I wanted for myself. Her admiration and love would go to him and he would squander it. 

The fool.


	22. Gunpoint

Green flames traveled up Link's arm and pooled around his head. There was a sickly glow around him that pulsed and writhed in time with his breathing. The cave was stifling and sweat poured down my forehead as I inched towards the exit around the gaping hole in the ground. Flames sunk into his skin and flooded his eyes until the bright sky blue faded to a dark ocean green. His eyebrows narrowed and he whipped an arrow from his quiver to nock.  
I froze. 

Only the harsh sounds of breathing broke the hot stagnant air. He looked at me like a stranger, no flicker of recognition flared in his eyes and no comforting sign left his fingertips. Time and Death stood waiting for us to move and make a choice. I gathered my courage and took another inching step to the exit. The result was instantaneous. Link drew back his arm and straightened his back to a perfect archer's stance, the point of his arrow held steady pointing at the wrinkle between my eyes. I held my breath. 

Death loomed behind me. An ordinary soldier can only hold a bow at full draw for a few seconds at most. Just long enough to aim and breathe. I've seen Link hold a lighter bow for more than a minute when threatening a Yiga in my defense. The remainder of my life could be counted in seconds. The green flames still pulsed around Link's form, but he didn't release. Death didn't touch me, yet. Time remained still.

"Link..." I whispered into the silence.

I didn't know what I could say to save myself. The flames flared at my voice, but I could see that they didn't overtake him entirely. His body was covered, but his head - his mind - was only tinged green. The ocean blue was battling with the sea green. His arms shook with the effort of holding back the habit of a thousand repetitions in training, a thousand hours of hunting wild game, a thousand shots in my defense. Death hovered a hand over my shoulder in preparation for his final grab. 

"Zelda..." Link whimpered behind clenched teeth.

Time raced forward. Death jumped from behind me and lept at Link over the deep chasm separating us. Link met him halfway and they tumbled together into the darkness.


	23. Car Accident

I started my day in the usual way now that there was a serviceable tent city in the ruins of Castle Town. A quick trip to the mess tent got me a bite to eat that kept me awake through the daily update on castle repairs. Every new discovery was a memory that kept the hole in my heart from healing. Today was a small book of recipes that reminded me of the friendly cook that used to sneak me pieces of fruit while they baked the night's dessert. Everyone in the room watched me as I tried not to cry over a recipe book. It wasn't real to them. 

I left quickly, as usual, and was waylaid on my way to the quartermaster's daily disaster. 

"Princess! A message from the Hero!" A little boy ran up to me, hopping from one foot to the other in excitement. "He says he's engaged at the east wall and won't be coming to lunch!"

I thanked the boy and rushed off to find where my shadow had gone. It was a beautiful day out and there were Hylians wandering all around the square. A crowd was gathered at the curve where the remains of the eastern wall met the castle ramparts. My footsteps grew heavier as I walked and caused the people to turn and make way when they saw me approach. I took the corner at a sedate pace befitting a princess before skidding to a halt.

Link was standing formally in the center of the semicircle formed by the crowd. He didn't turn to look at me and kept his gaze fixed in the same direction as the rest of the crowd.

"Link..." I said hesitantly, "That's your bike."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"I have asked to you exercise caution while riding it."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Then tell me, Link, how did you manage to embed that death trap thirty feet up my wall?"

He didn't avert his gaze, but I could see the soldier facade break a little where the corner of his mouth turned up in a suppressed smirk.


End file.
